


The Best Things

by BoldBeverly



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Episode: s07e25-26 All Good Things..., F/M, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:47:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28092639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BoldBeverly/pseuds/BoldBeverly
Summary: The conclusion we SHOULD have gotten for "A Few Good Things"
Relationships: Beverly Crusher/Jean-Luc Picard
Comments: 6
Kudos: 29





	1. After the Poker Game

After the poker game: 

CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS 

"So are you going to tell me the rest of the story?" Beverly asked, accepting the glass of port he offered her and sitting in her usual spot on the couch. 

"What?" he said in surprise.

"Jean-Luc, I know you held information back, what I don't know is why. Was it that you thought that it would disrupt the timeline or because it was too personal?"

He looked at her contemplating, "Perhaps both. Some of it I want to change, some of it I would like to see how it plays out, and yes, it was personal. It is personal."

She processed that, moved to what she thought was a safer portion of the future to discuss. "So tell me about my ship. I think I like the sound of Captain Crusher."

He choked a bit on his drink. She narrowed her eyes at him. "What?"

He made the decision. "You weren't."

"I wasn't what? You said I was captain of a medical ship, although Starfleet doesn't even have dedicated medical ships at the moment," she responded. 

"You weren't 'Captain Crusher'," he clarified. 

"Oh, now THAT is interesting," she said with a smile. "Anyone we know?"

"You could say that," he allowed, enjoying the game a bit now. 

"Do I have to guess?" she teased. 

"In the other timeline when I had you scan me for the brain anomaly, it was positive," he told her, seemingly changing the subject. 

"That must have been hard, for both of us," she allowed, serious now. 

"It was. Although there was one benefit," he added with an enigmatic smile, that special smile that she knew he rarely shared with anyone else. 

"What was that?" she asked trying to see how this part of the tale could be remotely amusing.

"You were very..... caring when you delivered the news," he told her. 

"I'm always caring when I deliver difficult news," she told him, acting affronted.

"Not quite like this," he told her, his voice growing softer, his eyes gazing directly into hers. He walked over and sat on arm of the couch next to her. "You sat on my desk like this," he started. 

Beverly's heartbeat sped up but she wasn't going to back away. Not this time. 

"And then?" she challenged. 

"You accompanied it with..." he broke off, moved towards her, cupping her cheek in his hand and drawing her lips to his in a sweet, but still intense kiss. It was clearly not a kiss of friendship or sorrow, but of restrained passion. 

"You're right, that exceeds even my usual excellent bedside manner," she told him. 

He nodded. She laughed and then moved in, followed up with a kiss of her own. "I'm not running away anymore," she told him. 

He gazed into her eyes and brushed her hair back over one shoulder. 

Their lips met, this time, tongues dueling, leaving no room for misinterpretation. 

"In all fairness, I suppose I should tell you that Captain Picard and former Admiral Picard were divorced," he said. "That being the part which I would hope to change." 

"We can discuss that, and I'm sure we will but I don't think we should have to pursue marriage counseling until after the honeymoon," she said with a wicked gleam in her eye.

"That seems imminently reasonable," he said as she kissed him again. His hands stroked her arm, barely brushing the sides of her breasts. She shivered in delight but then pulled away. 

"Before this goes any further, I think we should reschedule tomorrow's staff meeting," she said.

He looked at her in confusion.

"I think you might want to sleep in," she informed him, "because I plan to keep you up for awhile."

"Indeed," he said, caressing her cheek. 

"I hold lunch meetings for the medical staff. It's very well received, and it would go along with your newfound desire to strengthen relationships," she told him. 

"Sounds excellent," he said but still didn't move. 

"You send a message to senior staff and I'll let Selar know I won't be in until beta shift," she said. "Don't forget to include me in the message, I don't think we need to announce that I'm the reason for the change."

"Agreed," complete sentences seemed beyond him.

"The sooner you get the message sent, the sooner we can get back to this," she said gesturing between them. 

"Ahh," he finally rose and went to his computer and pulled himself together enough to type out a brief note to senior staff. Picard walked back to where Beverly sat on the couch. "I think we should move this to the other room," he said, offering her his hand. 

"I couldn't agree more," she said setting down the PADD she had used to message sickbay and took his hand. 

Entering his bedroom Beverly reached down and took off her boots, Picard did the same. When she reached for the zipper on her uniform, he stopped her. "Let me," he said, covering her hand with his. She nodded. 

Instead, he drew her to him and kissed her again, kissed her passionately and deeply like he'd wanted to for as long as he could remember. He was not going to rush this. They were going to savor each other. 

She ran her hands over his chest and then under his uniform top, felt his muscles jump at her touch. She pulled it off, letting her hands roam along his strong, bare shoulders. She lowered her lips to his neck as he stroked her hair. He removed her uniform top and slid his hands along her bare back, enjoying the silky feel of her skin and gazed at her bared breasts clad only in a wisp of lace. He moved to cup them and she sighed in delight and he teased her nipples through the fabric. 

The caressed and kissed as their remaining clothing hit the floor, their passion building, blood roaring. They tumbled onto the bed, a tangle of limbs. He poised at her entrance, looked into her eyes and said, "I love you Beverly." 

She smiled and reached up to touch his face, "I love you, Jean-Luc Picard."

They moved together, finding a rhythm of their own, a love of their own.


	2. Exposure

DEANNA TROI'S QUARTERS  
She was just reading a surprising message from the captain regarding changing the time of their staff meeting when she felt a very powerful wave of lust...and love. She had been thinking about the captain and yes...that was exactly who was manifesting that emotional state. She cast about, searching for her closest friend and felt similar emotions. She backed off and laughed. She wondered if it was too late to get in on Riker's pool...

OBSERVATION LOUNGE  
1200 Hours

A sampling of sandwiches, salads and fruit lined the middle of the table with senior staff serving themselves family style. When Counselor Troi entered she was directed by Captain Picard to a stack of plates but she noticed that he didn't quite meet her eyes. She spied Beverly already ensconced in a chair to the captain's left and she sat in the one on her other side. She added a sandwich and a small helping of salad to her plate and turned to look at the doctor who was attempting to radiate calmness and innocence. 

"This lunch meeting idea is a nice one," Troi commented. 

"It is," said Crusher. "My staff and I often have snacks or lunch when we have a department meeting. It makes for a less formal atmosphere."

"So it was your idea?" she asked innocently.

Beverly was sensing that the gig was up. "I might have mentioned it."

"We could have easily have had a breakfast meeting," Troi said, "unless that's a meal you aren't willing to share."

"I think that would be a nice idea for another day," Beverly responded, refusing to meet Deanna's eyes.

"But not today?" said Troi. "Tired are we? I didn't think the poker game was all that late."

"All right, stop it," Beverly said in a very low voice, "or I'll be busy when you drop by my office for a cup of tea this afternoon," she threatened. 

"I've been waiting a long time to get you back for that time you abandoned me on the holodeck with Thomas Riker," the counselor said in an equally low voice. The two women shared a look and laughed. Both noticed Picard pointedly looking away from them and they laughed even harder. 

"Care to share the joke ladies?" Riker asked. They both simply shook their heads and worked to bring themselves under control. 

Picard, realizing that this could go bad quickly decided to get the meeting on track. "Mr. Data, we are due to arrive at Manrilla IV in three days, what can you tell us about the culture?"

Data reliably started to spout out all sorts of facts, pertinent and not-so-pertinent about the people of Manrilla II and the staff focused on the business at hand.


	3. Girlfriends

CRUSHER'S OFFICE

Deanna walked in to find Beverly reviewing reports and walked to the replicator. "What would you like?" she asked. 

"Lemon tea, thanks," the doctor replied pushing her computer aside. "How did you know? Were we that obvious?"

"Well I was reading the message about the meeting change and sometimes when I think about the people I am closest to I get a read on their feelings. Captain Picard was having some very strong feelings just then. And so were you."

"I imagine we were," Beverly said, "after so many years, can you blame us?"

"So what changed?" Deanna asked. 

"I asked him about the future, about what he had clearly not told the rest of the staff and he caved. Told me that in the future I was Captain Picard and that I had kissed him when I had found the anomaly in his brain. Actually, he didn't tell me that part as much as showed me," she said with a smile. "And then...we rescheduled the staff meeting."

Deanna realized she wasn't going to elaborate further. "And then what happened?" she said using the words Beverly had spoken to her when Lt. Riker had been on board. 

"You're a big girl Deanna, I imagine you can speculate," she said with a laugh. 

"All right, just one thing..." she prompted. 

"His hands are very...strong," Beverly allowed with a satisfied smile. "And I can't be sure yet but I think his artificial heart gives him a faster recovery time. I suppose I'll have to conduct further research."

Deanna sighed. "How did the captain handle it this morning?" she asked, knowing that the morning after can be as important as the act itself. 

"Before or after our shower?" Beverly asked deadpan.

Deanna laughed. "You will have to talk about things at some point. This will change your working relationship too."

"I know," Beverly said, serious now. "Actually the thought of how he reacted to Nella Darren weighed on me heavily before this, has kept me at least from making a move in the past."

Deanna nodded, familiar with how the Captain had been unable to deal with his former lover serving under his command. 

"I think we will just have to trust that we can work through it. I've been on many dangerous missions and Jean-Luc is well aware that he won't be able to change how I do my job."

"That's just it Beverly, you need to realize you will both have to make some changes. Direct communication about how you feel will be the most important thing."

"I know and that part I can agree to." She sighed wondering if she should tell Deanna the rest of what Jean-Luc had said. Since she would probably rely on Deanna's advice and possibly her professional services, she decided to be honest. "Jean-Luc also said that in the future we had gotten a divorce," she admitted.

Surprise showed on Deanna's face. She considered that for a moment. 

Beverly spoke again, "Are you surprised that would happen, or that he would tell me?"

"Which surprised you more?" Deanna responded, turning the question back to her. 

"I don't really know. I thought at first that he was trying to warn me about us being together but it was clear that was what he wanted regardless. I suppose it was his way of giving us a level playing field to start out."

"I would say that starting with honest communication was a very good choice," Deanna replied. 

"I hope so. After all the these years Deanna we have to at least try. I've been alone so long and even though I've had other lovers I know this is different," Beverly said. 

"It is only natural that you would have some trepidation, given what happened to your husband and all the times you've had the captain in your sickbay."

Beverly sighed. "Those fears have been holding me back for too long. I didn't let them stop me last night and I'm committed now. I used to think that I was protecting myself by not getting involved but the truth is I would be just as devastated if he died without us being together. I'd never wish away the years I had with Jack just because of his death, I won't with Jean-Luc either." She smiled at Deanna, "Certain things are worth taking the risk, this is one of those."

"Yes, I think it is," Deanna said. "You are two very strong personalities but you have a very deep connection. That is something the captain has not allowed often."

"Our friendship has always meant a lot to us and I think we would both be devastated if we damaged that but there has come a point where it is obvious that there is more between us and we need to explore it. Navigating the personal and work relationships will be a challenge but I think we've gotten better over the years."

"You know I am here to support you both if and when you need it," Deanna said. 

"Thank you. That means a lot. Now I need to get these reports finished because I intend to finish my shift on time today," Crusher told her.


	4. Second Chances

CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS

"So I take it you told Deanna?" he said.

"Apparently YOU told Deanna, or rather the strength of your emotions last night did," she said with a laugh. "I only confirmed it. Did you really think we were going to keep it a secret?"

"Well, I'd hoped to have some modicum of privacy for at least a bit," he admitted. 

"Settle for this instead?" she said, kissing him deeply. 

"Indeed," he said with a smile. 

"She won't tell anyone else, at least until we're ready," she told him. 

"I know. I'll get used to it," he allowed. 

"Don't worry Jean-Luc, I'm not going to hold your hand walking through the corridors or kiss you in Ten-Forward," she joked. "Although I don't think most of the crew would bat an eyeball," she told him. 

"Perhaps not," he admitted. Perhaps his insistence on this great distance between himself and the crew was not nearly as necessary as he had believed. He thought about another Crusher with whom he had shared a deep relationship and knew that was where it all started. Although he and Jack had been friends rather than lovers, he realized now that he had allowed the despair he felt after Jack's death to build some serious emotional walls. Jack had been like his younger brother and he had failed to protect him. Perhaps this was a second chance for him in many ways, as a man and as a captain if only he had the nerve to seize it.


End file.
